BACKGROUND:
Strategic planning is crucial for a city as it helps set clear goals, allocate resources efficiently, and guide long-term development. It enables proactive decision-making, promotes collaboration among stakeholders, and ensures sustainable growth, enhancing the overall well-being of residents.
In November, 2022 the City Council and staff leadership team began a strategic planning process to develop a roadmap to guide Cathedral City for the next five years.
Through a series of workshops, informed by City Councilmember interviews, a community survey, and staff input, the City Council and staff refined the vision and values of the City organization, established goals and objectives, and created work plans to advance the city forward in the jointly-shared strategic direction. The City Council adopted the strategic plan on April 12, 2023 and on August 23, 2023 staff conducted a study session with the City Council to provide an update on staff’s progress.
Staff had been making consistent progress on identified projects, and then Tropical Storm Hilary hit on August 20, 2023 flooding portions of the city and inundating the Horizon Street area homes and businesses with several feet of mud. States of emergency were declared at the city, county, state levels in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Response to the storm became an all-hands effort for staff in Fire, Police, Public Works, Communications, Building, Finance, IT, Economic Development and the City Manager’s Office for weeks after the storm hit with staff continuing to clean up the city, coordinating with agencies to bring resources to the impacted parts of the community, and advocating to the City’s county, state and federal representatives to seek assistance to help the City recover.
DISCUSSION:
Financial Overview
Response to the storm incident required a significant expenditure of funds for protective measures and debris removal. The City Council authorized $1,062,000 in expenditures for cleanup activities and $4,563,162 for a debris removal contract, all being allocated from the general fund. Staff initially estimated approximately $18.7m in road repairs that would also need to be prioritized.
Since it was unclear if and when federal funding would become available, on November 8, 2023, staff presented to the City Council a series of budget amendments to address the storm-related expenditures. The City Council approved $6,492,090 in cuts or deferments to balance the extraordinary impact on the general fund reserves. In addition, the City Council approved the deferment of a number of projects that had been identified in the first years of the Strategic Plan that did not yet have budget appropriations, including:
•Facilities Master Plan, Facilities Condition Assessment – Year 1 •Facilities Master Plan (Phase II – development of policies and procedures) •Annual allocation to Facilities Fund (614)
•Equipment Replacement Fund (611) allocation
•Entryway Monument Study
•IT Master Plan recommendations
•Conducting a Compensation and Classification Study
On November 21, 2023 President Biden declared a state of emergency for California, including Riverside County, and made federal funding available through FEMA for public assistance. The City submitted over $28.3 m in projects to FEMA and CalOES in the following categories:
•Debris Removal – Category A, 1 Project @ $9.3M+
•Emergency Protective Measures – Category B, 1 project @ $52.5K •Roads and Bridges – Category C, 13 projects @ $18.7M
•Public Buildings & Equipment Loss – Category E, 2 Projects @ $162K •Parks and Recreation Facilities – Category F, 2 Projects @ $60K If the projects submitted are approved, FEMA would pay 75% of the total costs, CalOES would pay 18.75% (or 75% of the remaining 25% not covered by FEMA) and the City would be required to pay the remaining 6.25% (or 25% of the remaining 25% not covered by CalOES. The City has submitted eligible Federal Highway Administration Streets to CalTrans – if approved CalTrans could cover up to 88.53% of the repair costs.
Overview of the Strategic Plan Workshop
During the Strategic Plan workshop, the departments will present an overview of their goal accomplishments for the past year, focusing on the following questions:
• Over the past year, what has your department accomplished that you and your team are most proud of? What factors contributed to your success? • What has challenged your department the most? What were the biggest internal or external factors that impeded your department from achieving your goals and objectives?
• What key initiatives will be the focus of your department over the next year? Do they still align with the goals/objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan or do they need to shift? If change is proposed, what is the proposed change and timeline for implementation?
Finance Director Biersack will provide a midyear budget update and discuss the current revenue and expenditure projections for FY 2023/24 and FY 2024/25.
The City Council and staff will discuss the priorities outlined in the strategic plan and discuss any modifications or reprioritizations necessary. The complete update of staff’s efforts to date are included in the attached document.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Depending on the outcome of the strategic planning session, any changes to strategic priorities may necessitate budget amendments, which would be brought back at a future City Council meeting.
Attachment: Cathedral City Five-Year Strategic Plan